Upcoming Event: Men's Tennis versus ITA All-American Championships on September 21, 2025
Men's Tennis
vs ITA All-American Championships
Thursday, February 13
Denver, CO
5:00 PM
University of Utah
3
at
4
Denver
Photo by: Jake Laramie
Men's Tennis Falls Short To Denver
2/13/2020 9:19 PM | Men's Tennis
Utes drop road match on Thursday night.
DENVER – The University of Utah men's tennis team dropped a tough road match on Thursday night, coming up short in a competitive match to the University of Denver, 3-4. Utah earned the doubles point early, but couldn't get enough going in singles to pick up the road win at the Denver Tennis Park.Â
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Utah started off the match with a 1-0 lead from doubles action. Utah's top duo of Randy Cory and Russell Benkaim topped James Davis and Matt Summers on court No. 1 with a score of 6-4. In tight matches across the board, Denver then evened the doubles score 1-1 with a win at the No. 2 spot when Pedro Del Valle and Mattia Ros beat out Slava Shainyan and Azat Hankuliyev with a score of 6-4.
With doubles decided from a Ute duo that was teaming up for the first time this season, Mathias Gavelin and Wally Thayne pulled through for Utah and defeated Ignacio Crespo and Daniel Krulig at the No. 3 spot. Gavelin and Thayne earned a 7-6 victory to give the Utes the advantage going into singles.
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Denver quickly went up 3-1 on Utah with singles wins on courts six, three, and two in straight-set wins. The Pioneers put away Utah with a win at the No. 5 position to earn the team victory.
Finishing out the remaining matches, Gavelin recorded a victory at the No. 4 spot for the first Ute singles win in the match. Gavelin downed Denver's Ignacio Crespo with a score of 7-6, 6-1. The final win of the day for the Utes came from Franco Capalbo on the No. 1 court, as he beat out Matt Summers in a three-set match. Capalbo dropped his first set, but bounced back to win the next two 6-2, 6-2.
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The Utah men's tennis team will be back in action this Sunday, Feb. 16 to finish their road trip against the New Mexico Lobos at 1 p.m. MT in Albuquerque, N.M.
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Denver 4, Utah 3
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Doubles (1,2,3)
1. Benkaim/Cory (UU) def. Davis/Summers (DEN), 6-4
2. Del Valle/Ros (DEN) def. Shainyan/Hankuliyev (UU), 6-4
3. Gavelin/Thayne (UU) def. Crespo/Kruig (DEN), 7-6 (7-6)
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Singles (6,3,2,5,4,1)
1. Franco Capalbo (UU) def. Matt Summers (DEN), 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Mattia Ros (DEN) def. Russell Benkaim (UU), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
3. James Davis (DEN) def. Slava Shainyan (UU), 6-4, 6-2
4. Mathias Gavelin (UU) def. Ignacio Crespo (DEN), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
5. Ignatius Castelino (DEN) def. Wally Thayne (UU), 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
6. Daniel Kruig (DEN) def. Randy Cory (UU), 6-4, 7-5
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Utah started off the match with a 1-0 lead from doubles action. Utah's top duo of Randy Cory and Russell Benkaim topped James Davis and Matt Summers on court No. 1 with a score of 6-4. In tight matches across the board, Denver then evened the doubles score 1-1 with a win at the No. 2 spot when Pedro Del Valle and Mattia Ros beat out Slava Shainyan and Azat Hankuliyev with a score of 6-4.
With doubles decided from a Ute duo that was teaming up for the first time this season, Mathias Gavelin and Wally Thayne pulled through for Utah and defeated Ignacio Crespo and Daniel Krulig at the No. 3 spot. Gavelin and Thayne earned a 7-6 victory to give the Utes the advantage going into singles.
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Denver quickly went up 3-1 on Utah with singles wins on courts six, three, and two in straight-set wins. The Pioneers put away Utah with a win at the No. 5 position to earn the team victory.
Finishing out the remaining matches, Gavelin recorded a victory at the No. 4 spot for the first Ute singles win in the match. Gavelin downed Denver's Ignacio Crespo with a score of 7-6, 6-1. The final win of the day for the Utes came from Franco Capalbo on the No. 1 court, as he beat out Matt Summers in a three-set match. Capalbo dropped his first set, but bounced back to win the next two 6-2, 6-2.
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The Utah men's tennis team will be back in action this Sunday, Feb. 16 to finish their road trip against the New Mexico Lobos at 1 p.m. MT in Albuquerque, N.M.
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Denver 4, Utah 3
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Doubles (1,2,3)
1. Benkaim/Cory (UU) def. Davis/Summers (DEN), 6-4
2. Del Valle/Ros (DEN) def. Shainyan/Hankuliyev (UU), 6-4
3. Gavelin/Thayne (UU) def. Crespo/Kruig (DEN), 7-6 (7-6)
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Singles (6,3,2,5,4,1)
1. Franco Capalbo (UU) def. Matt Summers (DEN), 3-6, 6-2, 6-2
2. Mattia Ros (DEN) def. Russell Benkaim (UU), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5)
3. James Davis (DEN) def. Slava Shainyan (UU), 6-4, 6-2
4. Mathias Gavelin (UU) def. Ignacio Crespo (DEN), 7-6 (7-5), 6-1
5. Ignatius Castelino (DEN) def. Wally Thayne (UU), 4-6, 6-0, 6-3
6. Daniel Kruig (DEN) def. Randy Cory (UU), 6-4, 7-5
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Players Mentioned
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
/ Men's Tennis
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